Tokyo

Almost 13 hours after leaving London, we were on Japanese trains; famously clean and efficient machines that lived up to their reputations. Whizzing through lush countryside, we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by tall buildings, and just like that, we were in central Tokyo. The prize for winning a Facebook competition was a 2 night stay in one of the furthest places from home a Londoner can go-almost 6000 miles between the two cities. We were afforded a stay in the lovely Grand Hyatt hotel, located in the upscale shopping district of Roppongi Hills. Contained within the far-spanning district was everything from smaller souvenir shops, a lego store, big fashion outlets and even a large cinema. The cinema was to be where we would watch the premiere of Resident Evil, courtesy of Canadian outerwear company Nobis.

While our stay was brief, what we did see of Tokyo was very distinctive. Everything was simultaneously massive, and yet things also seemed compact-skyscrapers and highrises tessellated pleasantly with roads and shops. By being ultra-tourists, we found that even a McDonalds breakfast seemed neater (it also came with Grape Fanta!). The people of Roppongi Hills seemed very similar to Londoners at Westfield, and Tokyo in general was reminiscent of the London layout. In terms of climate, however, Tokyo is quite a few degrees warmer, and incredibly humid. Cicadas could be found singing their strange whirring songs, and even the September nights were pleasantly cool.

The journey to and from Tokyo itself was also enjoyable, as our flights came equipped with screens built into the back of every seat, allowing passengers to watch a variety of films, sport and even play games. Due to all of these factors, I would highly recommend a trip to Tokyo (time and money permitting, of course). Even a brief trip such as ours was highly enjoyable and exposed us to Japanese culture, but there is still plenty more to see!